Star Trek Rebirth: Connected
by Elli1
Summary: Part of "Star Trek: Rebirth". Set after "Shadows Part 2".  Still searching for dilithium, Janeway send Paris, Chakotay, Dalby and Gerron Tem on an away mission into unfamiliar territory.


**The Rebirth Saga:**Connected 

Summary:   
Set after **Shadows Part 2.** Still searching for dilithium, Janeway send Paris, Chakotay, Dalby and Gerron Tem on an away mission into unfamiliar territory.   
Rated R for violence. 

Disclaimer:   
Star Trek Voyager, the Excelsior and the Omega Particles belongs to Paramount and Star Trek.   
The Jedi belong to George Lucas. And the Matrix belongs into Marion Zimmer Bradley Darkover Universe.   
The story and the characters in it belong to me. Marcos Cavelle belongs to the** P/T Collective** and the Name Janaki belongs to** Subha Rajaram**, I just took the name, not the character. Don't sue... 

Author's note:   
You need to read the first two parts to understand this one.   
Otherwise you'll have no clue as to what happened before and what is going on.   
I would love to get some feedback on this one. My e-mail address is 'e_kuijl@parisnights.de'. 

Dedicated to:   
My beta reader Jean! Who did a wonderful job with this, thanks!!!   
To Mrs Hass, my former English teacher, who loves SF and Fantasy almost as much as I do and was the most competent teacher I ever had... 

Archiving:   
Please don't archive without my permission. Only allowed for TPD & TPP... 

And please tell me what you think of this. I really appreciate the feedback. Tell me what you felt when you read it. I have no idea if this will work as I planned it to.   
My e-mail address is e_kuijl@ParisNights.de 

Connected   
By Elisabeth Kuijl 

Teaser

The Federation Starship Voyager drifted through the nebula slowly. What normally was just a beautiful interstellar phenomenon, was now their only chance for survival. A week had passed since Captain Janeway and crew had to take refugee in the sensor blinding cloud. A week full of repairs, of stress, of shock and of grief. Few mourned New Earth and Jacqueline Moreaux. Those who did, did it quietly, alone. Janeway was one of them. She had liked the older woman and would have enjoyed getting to know her better. It wasn't the first time she thought about visiting Janaki, of helping her. But all her previous attempts had failed. She knew this was hard on the Vulcan, that she needed time, but she also knew that someone had to reach through to her. And she somehow also knew that this person had to be Tuvok. If only her chief of security was willing... She wondered why he had taken the deaths so hard. He was Vulcan after all. He wasn't supposed to hide. 

Repairs were going extremely slow. They barely had energy to raise shields, let alone to fire a phaser. The Tolmaar attack had left them extremely vulnerable and beaten up. They were literally dead in the water, the only thing moving them were the currents of gas and phosphor in the nebula. Their chances for a dilithium refit had been taken away. Voyager couldn't function without it. It was essential. Before entering the could, they had discovered a source of dilithium on a planet near the cloud. 

Three days ago, Janeway had sent an away team consisting of Paris, Chakotay, Dalby and Gerron Tem to collect the mineral they needed so badly. She still wasn't so sure if sending Tom Paris had been a good choice. The Doctor said that the Ensign had recuperated from his collapse, and that he was fit for duty. But Tom's outer appearance and his behavior had told her differently. He had become withdrawn and antisocial. Always spent his freetime alone, or helping J'Anar to adjust. And although she knew that Tom grieved for Jacqueline Moreaux. She didn't believe that it warranted his morose behavior. 

But Tom Paris was her best pilot. He was the one to carry out this mission. If the Tolmaar were to attack the deltaflyer, he was the only one quick enough to maneuver them out of it. She was getting concerned about the away team. Three days, and still they had not returned. Her hands were tied. She could just keep waiting. 

*****   
He sat in the small confines of his cell, alone. Not for the first time he wondered how long they had been here. He had drifted in and out of consciousness all the time, so he couldn't tell. He wondered why he was here, alone. Without Gerron, Dalby or Paris. He wondered what had happened to them. His captors had not asked any questions, had not told him to do anything, to work on anything. They hadn't said anything at all. 

He saw that the light in the corridor become darker. A guard switched on a device on the corridor walls. It looked somewhat like one of the cortical stimulators the doctor used. The shape was round and you could turn it in both directions. The activation button was in the middle. A gentle humming was emitting from it. Not for the first time he wondered what it was for. 

Two guards entered the corridor and strode through it, nearing Chakotay's cell. *Here we go again,* he thought as they took position on each side of the cell, phasers in hand. Now a larger of group of wardens entered the cell area. In the middle of the group she was. 

The guard opened the cell slowly and activated the same device he had activated before inside the cell.   
The humming grew louder. 

After she had entered the cell she shared with Chakotay, the guards closed it again and shut of the device outside the cell. As usual she sat down in the corner of the cell, her golden eyes staring ahead. 

She looked different than before. She was even more dirty than before, the yellow-gold skin color seeming more like a grey brown. And for the first time he saw some emotion. Her haggard expression showed a hint of fear, anger, shame.   
But her beauty was still the same. 

He wondered about her. She never talked, never smiled, never did anything. Just went after her routine. He wondered where the guards brought her to so often. He wondered why she was the only prisoner leaving her cell. He wondered why she got such strict supervision. 

Was she dangerous? 

He wondered. 

*****   
The humming was her constant companion. It was an odd sound, but it quieted the sometimes overwhelming noises, but at the same time it also hampered her abilities. 

The noise was just like background music to her now.   
Whispers. 

Except his. 

She didn't know where he was. Who he was.   
But she heard him. Felt him. Clearly. 

His pain was intense, his fear great. But his resilience was even greater. He'd need it. Badly. She knew what he was going through. From first hand experience. 

*Please stop,* their minds both screamed out simultaneously. They were connected. She shared his pain. She could help him that way. Ease the pain. Tell him to resist. She knew there was too much at stake. She just didn't know what. 

*Resist,* she ordered. *I'm here. I'll help you.* Her own fear was forgotten. Her own pain so small in comparison to his. She had never experienced something like this. Such a connection. 

*He's like me. Like me. I'm not the only one left, * she thought with joy.   
*Or maybe not,* she mused. No. She needed to end his suffering. But how? 

Only time will tell. 

*****   
"No, you don't understand. I have already extracted his Matrix," the Tolmaan woman, G'Ruij, argued her case, her black eyes blazing. 

"You have extracted the Jedan's Matrix over ten years ago. You haven't made any progress since," he said, getting impatient. "Either you find answers soon. Or the high council will forbid your research." 

"Yes. They are so scared of everything Jedan, that they destroy it. Even Ja'Dock, " she said sarcastically.   
She would not let this opportunity slip. There were still so many experiments she could make.   
Too much to find out about them that was still in the dark. 

"I wonder why the High Council is so scared. We defeated them. All Jedan expect for one have been perished.   
By using her and now him as well, we can gain more insight to their technology. See what potential there really is," she said obsessively. 

"The High Council made a mistake. Being to scared of the Jedan's mental powers, he killed them all, not even asking them how to use all their technology. But we have a chance to find out. We could use it to our advantage to really BEAT them," she continued, not giving him the chance to answer. 

"If they could see them whimpering under my hands, they wouldn't be so scared.   
I have to know their secret. Don't you understand?" 

"I'll talk to the council. You'll get another month at maximum. Make the best of it, " he said coldly and left. 

"Damn," she whispered and smashed her hand into the wall.   
Just not enough time. 

*****   
"So, you're a couple now," Harry stated. 

"Yeah, " B'Elanna Torres whispered almost inaudibly. "Sort of." 

"You don't sound happy," Harry accused. "You should be glad it's over with Tom and that you moved on." 

"It's nothing, okay," she got louder. 

Harry nodded, knowing when to quit. 

Peter Mitchell entered the mess hall at the same time. He went over to their table and stopped to give the chief a short kiss on the cheek and then sat down next to her. 

Shokar Norad winced inwardly. He had no idea what Paris saw in the bastard Klingon. But it didn't matter. He had a mission to accomplish, and things were indeed going well for him. Very well. Maybe even too well. He needed to be careful. 

He knew the crew was generally happy that B'Elanna had broken up with Tom and had entered a relationship with Mitchell, but he did not want to find out what would happen if they actually would find out the truth. 

*****   
The smell of blood was everywhere. It left a metallic taste in the mouth of everyone who entered, but he knew, felt, that she was revealing in that smell that taste.   
The walls were naked, dirty, grey. On the ceiling, there were some spiderweps, and even more dirt.   
And bright light, that was so white, it hurt to look up. 

The instruments were humming constantly. Humming and beeping. 

In the middle of the room there was bed. It didn't have blanks or cushions, only a thin wooden construction.   
He wondered how long he had been tied to it. How long she was running tests, probing him with instruments, torturing him. 

At times he thought he wasn't even a part of his body. This couldn't be happening, could it?   
The only thing he felt was pain. His constant companion. 

He felt a presence nearby, but couldn't make out what it was. It was growing stronger, took away some of his pain... 

G'Ruij had left. For Now. Thank god.   
He wondered how long he had laid on this prison bar. 

The metallic shrieking of the door opening destroyed all his hopes for rest. 

Within two seconds the black eyes of his torturer glared down at him. 

Her eyes were shining with malevonelnce, obsession. 

Without warning she grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him violently: "Tell me what I want to know. Tell me!! You know, you're making me do it. You're making me hurt you. I just want you to tell me your secret. Give me access to your Matrix." 

"What Matrix," he whispered for the hundredth time. 

She slapped him hard across the face. 

"Don't play dumb with me," she pressed. 

She went over to her instrument- tray and pulled out another one of her devices. As she pressed it into his neck, he felt the pain increase immensely. He couldn't believe that the scream that followed actually belonged to him. It was awful. 

"Tell me what I need to know," she repeated. 

*Resist. I'm here. I'll help you,* a voice whispered in the back of his head. It was the presence a woman. 

For a second he felt free. *Think of something positive,* she whispered. 

*B'Elanna,* was the first thing that came to mind. But considering the last ordeal, he regretted that thought. 

*No, not anymore...* 

Nothing positive to think about.   
She had listened all the time. *Love,* she said in his head. *You love her.* 

Looking up at the alien bending over him, torturing him, he realized he hadn't talked at all. *Telepathy* he thought in awe.   
*What is telepathy?* she asked.   
*The way we communicate right now,* he answered her, although the pain was getting stronger again.   
*You mean you communicate the way the Tolmaan do, with sounds?*   
*Yes. What I don't understand is how we can communicate. I'm no telepath,* he stated. 

*You are. You are like me. Jedi, not Jedan. I always thought I was the last one of me people. I am the last Jedan, but I'm not the last Jedi anymore* she said. 

*I don't understand,* he whispered.   
*I don't understand either, but I know it's true.* 

He could feel the pain increasing, and knew that the woman couldn't help her much more. 

"I don't know what you want from me," he screamed.   
She grabbed his head and licked across his face. She grinned. 

"Density of particles has increased by five percent," she said triumphantly. 

*Resist* 

"I am almost there," she said. 

Suddenly the readings dropped down.   
"What!?" she screamed and smashed the instrument into the wall. 

Then she glared at him, suddenly seeming to see things clearer. 

"Not with me. I'll teach you." 

She bent over him and grabbed his cock. Moving over his face she kissed hard and violently. 

A familiar feeling of fear, helplessness and shame washed over him. 

Rape. He was being raped. Realization hit him. But how? Why was this so familiar? 

*No...* 

*****   
"Neelix, do you have any food left?" Janaki asked the Talaxian cook. 

"I still have some Leola Root stew," he offered.   
The Vulcan wrinkled her nose in distaste. She had already come into contact with the "delicacy".   
But she didn't want to hurt the man's feelings. He was one of the few people who her treated her well. Many didn't like the fact that she spent so much time with Tom, others were careful, since she was Vulcan and again there were those who felt even more awkward around her, because she was a Vulcan not acting Vulcan. 

After rolling food over her plate for some time, her expression being extremely pensive, Neelix joined her.   
"Are you all right?" he asked her. 

At first she wanted to say yes, but than she decided to tell him what was bothering her. 

" I talked to Lieutenant Tuvok," she admitted. 

"Your father," Neelix corrected her. 

"It didn't go too well," she told him. 

"Why is that," Neelix asked. 

"It's all logic, rationality, control for him. He doesn't understand me. He wants me to be Vulcan. He doesn't believe I have control over myself. But I do. I know I do," she complained. 

"Sounds like Mister Vulcan," Neelix said. 

"He said it was my decision. He said he could train me as a security officer and I'm going to take him up on his offer.   
I just don't know if I can accept him as a father yet. But he expects me to just take things as they are. But it's hard." 

"I think that sounds as if he said he loves you. Don't you think?" Neelix said, smiling. 

"Don't you understand? He is so alien to me. Like no one else I've ever met. He may be my biological father, but I don't have any connections to him, except security. Jacqueline was my mother, my only parent. I don't know my real parents.   
I have never seen my mother T'Pel. I want to give him a chance, but I need time to get to know him.   
Tom said he has a soft spot, for a Vulcan," she told him. 

"I guess you need to get to know him better," Neelix said. 

"And I will. On the security team." 

*****   
G'Ruij eyed her prisoner, her posture betraying her megalomania. He was waking up. Slowly.   
She could see the pain, the fear and the utter exposure in his body. His skin was damp with blood, his hair filthy.   
She could break him. She knew it. 

"Jedi," she whispered. 

"What has become of the powerful race you have once been.   
In my hands you're nothing but living flesh. You're submitted to my will, my power. My rules. You're weak. Breakable. Like a wilting flower. No match. You're no match against me. Neither one of you," she said in a steady rhythm. 

Her voice grew more quieter then: " I can still taste you. Feel you. You're mine. You and you're power." 

Tom turned his head away in disgust. He could not believe what had happened.   
He felt numb, lifeless. 

"I can smell your fear. I know you want to talk, so why don't you? I won't hurt you," she breathed. 

He took the time to stare into her eyes: "Like hell you won't," he rasped.   
She glared at him, anger and malice blazing in her eyes. She quickly turned around to get another instrument and resume the procedures. 

*Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut?* Tom asked himself, his own sarcasm being a welcomed change from the torture G'Ruij put him through. 

*****   
Captain Janeway entered the astrometrics lab silently, observing Seven working on the controls. 

"Seven?" she asked from behind, trying to get her attention.   
The former Borg jumped and faced the captain. 

"Captain Janeway, I didn't hear you come in," she stated. Janeway raised an eyebrow. That was unusual. Seven heard everything normally. The captain could guess the reason for being distracted. 

"Did you talk to Ensign Paris?" she asked her. 

The other woman nodded slowly and turned back to her console.   
Janeway knew how to read the signs: "It didn't go well. Did it." 

"He rejected me," Seven said, not turning back to face the captain. 

"Did he name reasons?" Janeway asked, having finally heard about the Paris/Torres fiasco from Harry Kim. Otherwise she could have guessed for sure. 

"He said he wasn't interested in anyone except Lieutenant Torres," Seven quoted.   
"The Lieutenant is not worthy of him. She is indulging in relationships with other men," she added, her despisal evident in her voice. 

"That's partly Tom's doing. He had an affair as well," Janeway tried to defend her chief engineer. 

"He did not," Seven simply answered,and resumed her work. 

*****   
Never underestimate the power of the Jedan mind, G'Ruij had once told Grenn while working on her.   
And she had been right.   
But she had underestimated this bond. That was clear now, for she would never have let it happened otherwise.   
The Jedi turned around in her waiting cell. No one else was there. She closed her eyes and tried to reach him. 

Through the mist of pain she found what she was searching for. Knowledge. 

Using Tom's knowledge, she tried to think of a way out. 

There was a computer junction next to her. She opened it, and tried to make sense of all the circuits.   
She took two of the chips out and then crossed the stripes.   
The panel blew up and the cell doors opened. 

*Way too easy,* she thought. 

*Never underestimate the power of the mind.* 

*****   
Gerron tripped for the third time this day. The guard heaved him up forcefully, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process. 

"Get moving," he grunted and shoved him forward. 

Tem wondered where they took him. They had kept him in his cell up until now. 

At first he didn't even register the humming that flew through the corridors. But it grew louder and louder.   
*Gods, that's an aggravating noise,* he thought. *I wonder how anyone can bear that.* 

They stopped as they reached a group of guards standing around a Tolmaan woman.   
Her eyes were glowing with a malice that he hadn't even seen in the worst Cardassion torturer. 

*What is she going to do with me?* he asked himself, not sure he really wanted to know. 

"Gerron Tem," she said in a voice cold and full of evil as she started to circle around him. 

"Did you ever in your life see someone being tortured? Have you ever been--- tortured?" she asked him. 

He didn't answer her. Just looked deeply into her eyes. She smiled. 

She turned her back to him and entered the room. 

"Come," she said. 

He followed her, being forced by the guards. The door closed behind him. The guards stayed behind. 

A naked plank bed was present in the middle of the room. Someone was lying on it.   
Was restrained. 

"Look at your colleague," G'Ruij whispered. "He KNOWS what torture is like." 

Gerron gulped. Colleaugue. He wondered who it was. 

He suddenly could smell the blood. The sweat. Images of Cardassion camps assaulted his senses. He didn't want to have to think about it. 

"Watch," the Tolamaan woman said. She forced him to go even nearer. 

Clothes, ripped.   
Shoes, torn.   
Fabric, bloody. 

He stared at the body in disgust. At first he didn't recognize the man on the plank.   
The face looked ashen, where the blood wasn't trailing down the skin. The hair was sticky, filthy with blood.   
He didn't think that he himself could endure such torture. 

"Why am I here," he asked her. 

"You'll find out soon enough," she whipered into his ear. He felt sick. 

"Wake up she screamed out loud, and hit her victim hard across the chest with a pipe. 

Gerron stared into the eyes as they opened. A hazy blue moving randomly from side to side. Unfocused.   
He knew those eyes. Tom Paris. 

"Oh my god," he whispered. 

"He's quite resilient, your crewmate. But nobody lasts forever," she said, intimidating him. 

"What have you done to him," he screamed. 

"He didn't tell me what I want to know." 

"Please don't think that I will cooperate with you," he hissed. 

"You don't have what I want. He does," she motioned to Tom. 

"I don't understand," he said. 

"Wake up Jedi. I know you're not sleeping," she hit Paris again. 

Tom's eyes slowly but surely focused on her. There was no emotion. 

G'Ruij neared Gerron again. She pressed one of her torture devices against his neck. 

"Tell me, show me what I need to know. Or I'll make sure his death won't be quick." 

*****   
She was out and no one else was in sight.   
*I can do this,* she thought. 

Without thinking she neared the akma. To release the locking mechanism, she slowly turned the wheel around.   
At first she didn't notice that the voices were growing louder and louder, but it was becoming more and more obvious. 

*The akma is a dempening field which suppresses telepathic abilities,* she realized.   
As the wheel had stopped, the humming died down as well. It was a relief. 

At first. 

But suddenly the voices that she heard were growing so loud, she could not hear anything else. Could not concentrate. 

A chorus of a million voices crashed down on her, penetrating her senses. 

She sank to her knees, trying to surpress a scream. 

Slowly she regained control, the voices again being backgound murmurs. 

*Escape. Gerron. Gods. Help,* a now familiar voice screamed in her mind. 

She quickly moved into action. 

*****   
Gerron was sweating now. He saw the fear in Tom's eyes.   
"Whatever they want, don't tell them, Tom. I can endure torture," he screamed, knowing very well he might not survive. 

The intercom chimed.   
"What is it?" G'Ruij barked.   
"The Jedi... She's not in her cell anymore. She escaped," the man stammered. 

"What? You let her escape. You fool. Take all the guards you can get and catch her. I'll be there soon. And make sure to leave the guards in front of this door. I'll send the prisoner back to his cell and continue later," she said sternly. 

"Come, Prisoner," she ordered Gerron. She couldn't afford to make mistakes. They'd cancel her project. 

She opened the door, wanting to get out first, anticipating the guards on the other side. 

Before she could pass the threshold however, a high electronic discharge threw her across the room. Dead.   
Gerron moved his eyes away from the site to the door. 

In the door-frame stood an elfin looking woman with golden eyes and skin. Behind her the guards lay dead. Killed.   
But how? She did not carry a weapon. 

"About time you came," Tom rasped, trying to free himself of the restraints. 

*I came as fast as I could,* she sent her thoughts to Tom.   
She went over to untie him, helping him of the plank. 

She seemed worried. *We must go. Before they find us. Who knows what they'd do.* 

"We still need to get Chakotay and... Dalby," he said, his voice vibrating with pain. 

Trying to gather up all strength, he stood. But he couldn't support himself and sank down to his knees.   
"I could go get Dalby. I know where he is," Gerron ventured. 

*No, I will go. I know,* she thought *I'll show you were to wait.*   
Tom told Gerron about it. 

*****   
Dalby was lead back to his cell by the warden. He had forced him to repair some broken conduits.   
He wondered if the same thing had happened to Gerron. He had been gone for a while. 

The guard was walking behind him, pointing his rifle into the Maquis' back. 

With a sudden thud, the pressure lifted. 

Dalby took the risk to turn around, only to look into a pair of golden eyes.   
The guard lay on the floor, dead, stabbed. But the woman was not carrying any weapon.   
The how? 

"What is going on?" he screamed. The Jedi had already felt the guards nearing them. She pulled Dalby behind a corner roughly, before the guards could see them. They passed by not noticing. 

Then she led him to the hiding place, where Gerron was waiting for them with Tom. 

"Oh my god," Dalby whispered at the sight of Paris. He was shivering and sweating. Sweat mixing with the blood if the open cuts. 

"Where's Chakotay?" Dalby asked with a shivery voice, expecting the worst. 

*****   
He had been asleep, as someone shook his shoulders. It was her. What did she want? She had been quiet all the time, never spoke to him, never answered him. Nothing. What now? 

*Dammit chakotay, you're paranoid,* he thought. 

His eyes followed her. The cell was open. Why was it open? She made gestures for him to follow her.   
It was not humming now, as it always was when she was around. 

She stopped, her golden eyes darting back and forth quickly. Roughly she pulled out the plug in the panel she stood in front of. 

Simultaneously all cell doors opened, to admit other prisoners of many cultures. Not knowing what was going on, they stuck their heads out of the cells, trying to find out what's going on. They caught the hint soon. Within seconds the prisoners stormed out of the cells. 

Total chaos. The perfect diversion. 

"Warning. Security breach. Prisoners escaping. Warning. Security breach. The prisoners escaping...." 

Chakotay followed the woman. 

*****   
They had taken away Chakotay's shoes a long time ago. His bare feet sank into the sand on the prison floor. As they had so many times before. He still followed her through the endless corridors. 

He didn't know how, but she seemed to know when a guard would pass them. She always found a place to hide before they could be detected, before the Tolmaan guards could even catch a glimpse of them. 

He wondered where she was taking him. But unlike his first impressions of the woman, he had a feeling he could trust her. That he had to follow her. He didn't understand it. 

The alarms came nearer. He asked himself why she was leading him to a prison section so highly controlled by wardens. But he knew he was more safer with her, than alone. From time to time escaping prisoners passed by them, running errands. 

She stopped in front of a hatch and opened it. It was the entry to a chute leading downward. She pushed him in, entered as well and closed the hatch behind herself.   
He crawled down the chute slowly, unfamiliar with the territory. But again, something told him he was doing the right thing. They excited the ventilation shaft shortly after that. It led to the prison's canalization system. 

He followed the Jedi around the corner, through the dirty water, only to be greeted by Dalby, who was pacing back and forth in the small tunnel. As he heard Chakotay, he turned around to face him. 

"Chakotay, thank god. I already wanted to plan a rescue mission," he said, relief vibrating in his voice. 

"She led me. "   
Chakotay pointed his finger at the golden skinned woman, who was moving past them to enter a small side cave. 

"Yeah. I can see that. She doesn't talk, does she?" Dalby stated, the aversion evident in his voice.   
Chakotay shrugged and followed her, wondering what had happened to Gerron and Paris. 

The cave was extremely small and Ckakotay's head almost hit the ceiling as he entered. Again, sand was on the floor. Dirty sand. On the floor sat Gerron Tem, holding Tom Paris on his lap. 

"Oh my God," was all Chakotay said. 

*****   
The pilot was shivering uncontrollably on Gerron Tem's chest, sweat pouring down his face, the sand sticking to it, running into to the crusty wounds. The salt of the sweat in combination with the sand, adding to the pain.   
Thank god he was unconscious. 

Chakotay didn't know what to do or say. Paris had obviously been tortured. Or worse. 

"He's been having seizures all the time. I don't know what's wrong," Gerron whispered.   
"We've got to get out of here," Dalby said. 

"And how do you suggest we do that ? Without a shuttle?" Gerron said, desperation in his voice. 

Dalby was getting angry now. He hated the fact that Gerron was so concerned about Paris. After all the pilot had done to B'Elanna. He finally got what was coming to him. Before he could say something though, Chakotay and Gerron had heaved Tom up and were following the woman out of the cave. 

*Ah, Golden wonder saves the day again,* he though with disgust. 

But besides his thoughts, he followed her as well. 

*****   
The door opened before them, admitting a small hanger. And in the middle, was the shuttle.   
Gerron entered the shuttle trying to get in Paris in. Chakotay and Dalby checked the shuttle from the outside. The collected dilithium was still there. 

The Jedi suddenly seemed very nervous. Her eyes were wandering from side to side, anticipating the worst.   
The hanger doors opened again and a Tolmaan woman entered together with some guards. 

The Jedi faced them, fear lurking in the depths of her eyes. 

"Go get them," the Tolmaan screamed. The Jedi stared at the shuttle, then back at G'ruij, sending the woman flying through the air with her pure thoughts. The Voyager crewmembers entered the suttle quickly, the Jedi in tow.   
She knelt down to tend to Tom while Chakotay took the helm. 

Soon they were gone, a cargo hold full of dilithium, leaving the Tolmaan prison behind. 

*****   
"Lay him on a biobed," the doctor ordered. 

Gerron and Dalby had been released to their quarters for now, although Gerron had been reluctant to go.   
Chakotay and Tuvok moved away from the biobed and back to Janeway to give the Doctor access to Tom. 

*It's the Awakening,* the Jedi tried to transmit.   
*Awakening?" someone asked. 

She searched for the source. It was the black guy behind her.   
*I am is Tuvok .*   
*I don't have a name. I am the last one of the Jedan, * she told him. *His Matrix is forming. I can observe it* 

"Doctor?" Tuvok started.   
"Not now!" the Doctor said, staring at his readouts.   
He started at the Captain then. 

"He's suffering from the AP- Downing syndrome," he barked. 

*I can help,* the Jedi said again. 

"So he did have an affair with Moreaux," Chakotay stated quietly. 

"AP- Downing is not aids. If he had sex with her it would have to be considered incest. She was his mother," the doctor corrected the facts. "It is obvious from his genetic builtup." 

Chakotay and Janeway stared at each other. They would not have imagined that. Never. 

*Owen lied,* Janeway thought. 

"Captain, I believe she could help us," Tuvok pointed at the Jedi. She came forward. 

"How?" Janeway asked.   
"She said his Matrix was building." 

*The same thing happened to me. His lost memories are returning. I can help with my own Matrix,* she said. Tuvok passed it on. 

The Doctor, out of options, nodded. 

She neared the biobed and sat down at the foot. She closed her eyes and lifted up her head slightly. She put her hands in front of her, a crystal building between of her palms, its color gold. Like her eyes. 

Above Tom's chest, a crystal was building also. A blue one. Tom's Matrix. 

"His lifesigns are returning to normal," the doctor told them. "The anomalous reading I found last week has returned." 

*Lost Memories. G'ruij wanted to have the power over my Matrix, as she wanted it with Tom. Therefor tried to surppress my memories of the past, to make me a willing servant. To tell my lies. Little did she know that the Awakening doesn't work without memories. Trying to create a weapon, she created her worst enemy. And it killed her in the end. * 

Tuvok told the Captain about this. 

They wondered what Tom was remembering. What was to come... 

The End 

June 2000


End file.
